


Personal

by TeaRoses



Category: House M.D.
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-16
Updated: 2010-05-16
Packaged: 2017-10-09 12:19:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/87244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeaRoses/pseuds/TeaRoses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>House notices a personal ad and is certain he knows who posted it.  Written between seasons three and four.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Personal

**Author's Note:**

> Written for an exchange at the House/Cameron LiveJournal. The recipients "wants" were: House either cussing or talking dirty in a foreign language 2. Cameron surprising him by saying something back in the same language. 3. Wilson

House sat at the cafeteria table, ignoring his hamburger and looking at the newspaper. After a few minutes, Wilson sat down next to him and peeked at what he was reading.

"Personal ads? You're going that far to get a date?"

"No," murmured House, tapping an ad with his finger. "Slim brunette seeks partner for chess and more."

"I don't think she sounds like your type," Wilson smirked.

"Well she sounds too intelligent to be your type. But I don't think Cameron plays chess."

"What does this have to do with Cameron?"

"She was reading the personals over lunch. In fact she left this very newspaper behind." House reached out with his free hand to steal Wilson's French fries.

"Hey, those are mine!" his friend protested uselessly. "And you have some right there."

"Yeah, but yours are still hot."

"Anyway, wouldn't Cameron be looking at the "men seeking women?" asked Wilson. "Or is there something she isn't telling us?"

"There's only one reason she would read them here and not even wait until she got home. She took out an ad herself and she was checking to make sure it made it in," said House.

He ran his finger down the page. "Gorgeous blonde submissive seeks dom to put her life in order."

"I don't think that's Cameron," his friend said.

"Neither do I, but I wonder if she's local?"

Now Wilson sighed. "What difference does it make to you if Cameron has a personal ad or not? Unless you want to date her, in which case all you have to do is ask her. I already told you that I heard she's not with Chase anymore."

"Why are you so sure she'd say yes?"

"I just am. And you are, too."

House grinned. "She's obsessed with me. That's why she came back to work here."

"Yet she's taking a personal ad. In her desperation, she's reaching out for some other man to complete her existence?" asked Wilson sarcastically.

House rolled his eyes at Wilson's tone. "And now she broke it off with Chase, too."

"I don't think that was over you."

"Believe what you want," House said.

"So are you asking her out?"

"No, what would I want to do that for? I just want to humiliate her for taking out a personal ad."

"I should have known."

"A-ha!" House said suddenly. "'Doctor seeks man thirty to fifty who enjoys classical music, long moonlit walks, and seductive talk.' Look at that age range; it's got to be her."

"Does she actually like those things?" Wilson asked doubtfully.

"Everyone writes that. It goes right along with liking pina coladas and getting caught in the rain." House grabbed his cane and stood up. "See you!"

It wouldn't be much fun if he couldn't torture Cameron gradually, so House decided to keep his campaign of mockery low-key at first and escalate it later. When she came into his office to ask him a question, he switched his music from jazz to something on the local classical station. She looked at him curiously.

"Bored with Dave Brubeck?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow at her recognition of 'Take Five," but then said with a grin, "I thought you might prefer this."

"Huh?"

Cameron's confusion seemed genuine, but he was certain she was faking it.

"You're not going to admit it?"

"Admit to listening to string quartets?" She shook her head. "Did you want me to reply to that e-mail from Cedars-Sinai?"

House nodded, then switched the music back, watching the gentle sway of her hips as she walked away. It was going to be harder than he thought to get her to admit to the ad.

***

Three days later the workday ran long. Their current client had an allergic reaction to one of the antibiotics they were treating her with and they had to stay to make sure she would recover. As they crossed the parking lot, House sidled up to Cameron.

"Don't you just love moonlit walks?" he asked.

She just gave him that confused look again. "Is there some obscene double meaning to that?"

He was close enough to smell the scent of her shampoo, and he tried not to let it distract him.

"Nothing like a night-time stroll with that special someone," he smirked.

She gave a sigh and he watched her throat move with her breathing. "'That special someone?'"

"Never mind." He walked away.

***

In the morning Cameron came to work early and tired, and House decided it was time for the final stage of his plan.

As she sat in front of the computer, he said. "You know, English has never seemed to be a very seductive language to me."

"Since you're not seducing me, why do you care?"

"Quiero verte desnuda." It wasn't exactly poetry but it would do.

"Aqui en el escritorio?" Cameron replied.

House raised an eyebrow. "High school Spanish?"

"My husband's mother was from Puerto Rico. Where did you learn Spanish?"

"From sexy women," he answered.

He wasn't as concerned with where she learned Spanish as he was with their exchange. He had just told her that he wanted to see her naked and she had asked if he meant right there on the desk. While he pondered that disturbingly pleasant mental image, Cameron escaped out of the lab.

***

The next day House stormed into Wilson's office.

"I just had coffee with a boring dermatologist named Joyce!" he said.

"How did you manage to arrange coffee without realizing it wasn't Cameron?" asked Wilson curiously.

"It was e-mail; she gave some internet nickname."

"You make fun of Cameron for being so honest, why would she do that?"

"Shut up."

"If you want to ask her out-"

"I don't, damn it. And now I have clinic hours for Cuddy."

"You must really be desperate for an excuse not to talk to Cameron if you're doing clinic hours."

***

The first patient didn't even have an intake form, and he opened the door ready for a blistering speech. But it was Cameron who sat on the table. He hesitated for just a moment, wondering what was going on.

"So, you had coffee with Joyce Danvers," she began.

"Well, so much for pleasantries."

"And you were hoping it was going to be me."

"How did you find that out?" asked House, leaning on his cane and looking at her.

"I found out about Joyce from Joyce. We used to work in the same hospital. Never mind how I found out about the rest."

"Which means Wilson."

She gave a mysterious smile.

"And you're here because you think I want to ask you out," he said.

"I'm here because I know you don't want to ask me out. You want me to ask you out. And then you can pretend you were forced into it," she said.

"No, then I can say no," he said.

She got off the table and stood close to him. He could feel her breath on his face.

"You don't want to say no," she said. "Maybe you pretend I manipulated you into it but you want to go."

"Why are you so certain of that?"

"Because you don't allow yourself to be happy. Or anyone else, most of the time."

"What else are you planning to tell me about me?" he asked.

"Actually, I'll tell you about me." She leaned even closer. "I like rock and jazz better than classical. And I don't like long walks."

"I see," he said, unconsciously playing with the edge of her sleeve. "I can live with that."

"And I want to tell you more about what I like, when you ask me out to dinner."

"I don't like dinner," he replied.

"You're still going to be a pain in the ass about a date?"

"That depends. Do you really like to talk dirty?"

"We could do with more of that."

"In what language?" he asked.

She gave him a brief kiss on the cheek, then looked into his eyes. "In whatever language you like."


End file.
